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The Profile in Courage Award is a private award created by the Kennedy family to recognize displays of courage similar to those John F. Kennedy originally described in his book of the same name. It is given to individuals (often elected officials) who, by acting in accord with their conscience, risked their careers or lives by pursuing a larger vision of the national, state or local interest in opposition to popular opinion or pressure from constituents or other local interests.
The winners of the award are selected by a committee named by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, which includes members of the Kennedy family and other prominent Americans. It is generally awarded each year around the time of JFK's birthday (May 29) at a ceremony at the Kennedy Library in Boston. The award is generally presented by JFK's daughter, Caroline. Also before their deaths, other presenters had included John Kennedy's brother, Ted, his son John Jr., and his widow Jacqueline.
Two recipients, John Lewis (in 2001) and William Winter (in 2008), were designated as honorees for Lifetime Achievement.
The winner is presented with a sterling silver lantern made by Tiffany's which was designed by Edwin Schlossberg. The lantern is patterned after the lanterns on the USS Constitution which was launched in 1797. It is the last sail-powered ship to remain part of the US Navy, and is permanently moored nearby.
Year | Recipient | Occupation | Achievements | Other finalists |
---|---|---|---|---|
1990 | Carl Elliott Sr. | Former U.S. representative (Alabama) | For working to enact civil rights laws and the National Defense Education Act of 1958 (Hill-Elliott Act), which "made him the target of vicious criticism from reactionaries of both parties" and caused his ouster from Congress in 1964. [1] | Henry Bellmon, Unita Blackwell, LeRoy Collins, Morris K. Udall [2] |
1991 | Charles L. Weltner | Former U.S. representative (Georgia) | For his decision to drop out of his race for reelection to a third term, rather than seek reelection and be bound by a party loyalty oath to support the candidacy of segregationist Lester Maddox. [3] | Frank P. Graham, George M. Michaels, Nicholas C. Wasicsko [4] |
1992 | Lowell Weicker | U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the 85th Governor of Connecticut. | For proposing, as governor of Connecticut, a budget that included the introduction of an unpopular state personal income tax and major spending cuts in order to address Connecticut's financial crisis. [5] | |
1993 | James Florio | Governor of New Jersey (1990–1994); U.S. representative (1975–1990) | ||
1994 | Henry B. González | U.S. representative (Texas) (1961-1999) | ||
1995 | Mike Synar | U.S. representative (Oklahoma) | ||
1996 | Corkin Cherubini | School superintendent | Efforts to rectify civil rights abuses in his small southern school district | |
1997 | Judge Charles Price | A judge for Circuit 15 in Montgomery County, Alabama. He served as a judge for the court from 1983 until his retirement from the bench on January 16, 2015. | ||
1998 | Nickolas C. Murnion | A judge on the 16th Judicial District Court in Montana. | ||
"Peacemakers of Northern Ireland" | Negotiators and signatories of the Good Friday Agreement. | Awarded to the negotiators and signatories of the Good Friday Agreement, "in recognition of the extraordinary political courage they demonstrated." Presented to John Hume, Gerry Adams, John Alderdice, Malachi Curran, David Ervine, Gary McMichael, Monica McWilliams, David Trimble, and George J. Mitchell. [6] | ||
1999 | Russ Feingold | U.S. Senator (Wisconsin) (1993–2011); [7] Wisconsin State Senator (27th District) (1983-1993). [8] | For co-sponsoring the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act | |
John McCain | U.S. Senator (Arizona) (1987-2018); U.S. Representative (1983-1987); [9] Republican nominee in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. | For co-sponsoring the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act | ||
2000 | Hilda Solis | Member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for the 1st district; United States Secretary of Labor (2009–2013) during the Obama administration; U.S. Representative (2001–2009) | ||
2001 | John Lewis (Lifetime Achievement Award) | An American civil rights movement leader and politician, Lewis was the U.S. representative for Georgia's 5th congressional district from 1987 until his death in 2020. He was the dean of the Georgia congressional delegation, and his district included three quarters of Atlanta. | ||
Gerald Ford | 38th president of the United States | For his controversial pardon of Richard Nixon, which arguably cost him the 1976 election. | ||
2002 | Kofi Annan | A Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1997 to December 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. [10] He is the founder and chairman of the Kofi Annan Foundation, as well as chairman of The Elders, an international organization founded by Nelson Mandela. [11] [12] | ||
Dean Koldenhoven | Former mayor of Palos Heights, Illinois | Political courage in speaking out against religious discrimination and calling for tolerance within his community. | ||
"Public Servants of September 11" | Representatives of NYPD, the FDNY, and the military | Risked their lives on September 11, 2001 attacks [13] | ||
2003 | Dan Ponder Jr. | He was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from 1997 to 2000. He is a member of the Republican party. [14] In 2003, he received the Profile in Courage Award from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. [15] He was elected mayor of Donalsonville, Georgia in 2013. [16] [17] | Took a contentious stand in favor of hate-crimes legislation in Georgia, which may have cost him his seat in the state House. | |
David Beasley | Executive Director of the U.N. World Food Programme. [18] Beasley served one term as the 113th Governor of South Carolina from 1995 until 1999, as a member of the Republican Party. | For his efforts to remove the Confederate battle flag from atop the state capitol. | ||
Roy Barnes | Governor of Georgia (1999–2003). [19] | For his efforts to minimize the Confederate battle emblem on Georgia's state flag. | ||
2004 | Sima Samar | A well known woman's and human rights advocate, activist and a social worker within national and international forums, who served as Minister of Women's Affairs of Afghanistan from December 2001 to 2003. | ||
Cindy Watson | Former North Carolina State Representative | |||
Paul Muegge | State Senator | |||
2005 | Joe Darby | The whistleblower in the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal. | ||
Shirley Franklin | Mayor of Atlanta (2002–2010) | |||
Bill Ratliff | Texas State Senator (1988–2004) [20] | |||
Viktor Yushchenko | Third President of Ukraine (2005–2010) | |||
2006 | Alberto J. Mora | A former General Counsel of the Navy | Led an effort within the Defense Department to oppose the legal theories of John Yoo and to try to end coercive interrogation tactics at Guantanamo Bay, which he argued are unlawful. | |
John Murtha | U.S. representative (Pennsylvania) | |||
2007 | Bill White | Mayor of Houston (2004–2010) | "Mayor White's quick actions in welcoming thousands of families displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita most certainly helped to save lives." [21] | |
Doris Voitier | Superintendent of Schools, St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana | "Despite insurmountable odds, Doris Voitier rebuilt the schools of St. Bernard Parish [after Hurricane Katrina], making sure the children of her community had a place to learn and grow when they returned home." [22] | ||
2008 | Jennifer Brunner | Ohio Secretary of State | ||
Debra Bowen | Secretary of State of California (2007–2015); member of the California State Legislature (1992-2006) | |||
William Winter (Lifetime Achievement Award) | Governor of Mississippi (1980–1984) | |||
2009 | Edward M. Kennedy | U.S. Senator (Massachusetts) | ||
Brooksley Born | Chairperson of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (1996–1999) | |||
Sheila Bair | 19th Chair of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), [23] during which time she assumed a prominent role in the government's response to the 2007–2008 financial crisis. She was appointed to the post for a five-year term on June 26, 2006, by George W. Bush. | |||
Leymah Gbowee and the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace | Helped bring an end to the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003. | |||
2010 | Karen Bass | Bass represented the 47th district in the California State Assembly 2004–2010, and was Speaker of the California State Assembly 2008–2010 (second woman, third African American speaker). | ||
Dave Cogdill | Republican politician who served as a State Senator from California's 14th State Senate district from December 2006 to December 2010. | |||
Darrell Steinberg | A member of the California State Senate representing the 6th District. He had also previously served as a member of the California State Assembly (1998–2004) and as a member of the Sacramento City Council (1992–1998). He is a member of the Democratic Party. | |||
Michael Villines | Former California State Assemblyman, who served from 2004 to 2010 representing the 29th district. | |||
2011 | Elizabeth Redenbaugh | School Board Member, New Hanover County, North Carolina | For her actions, as a member of North Carolina's New Hanover County School Board "against what she perceived as racial segregation in school redistricting plans." [24] | |
Wael Ghonim and the People of Egypt | "presented to Wael Ghonim in honor of all Egyptians who stood up, at great personal risk, for the principles of democracy and self-governance" in the Egyptian revolution of 2011. [25] | |||
2012 | Marsha Ternus, David L. Baker, and Michael Streit | Justices of the Iowa Supreme Court | "[I]n recognition of the political courage and judicial independence each demonstrated in setting aside popular opinion to uphold the basic freedoms and security guaranteed to all citizens under the Iowa constitution." The justices joined the unanimous Iowa Supreme Court ruling, Varnum v. Brien , that legally recognized same-sex marriage in Iowa; "[a]lthough the Court’s decision was unanimous, it provoked a political backlash. In November 2010, voters removed Ternus, Baker and Streit from office following an unprecedented campaign financed in part by national interest groups opposed to same-sex marriage." [26] | |
Robert Stephen Ford | Diplomat; United States Ambassador to Algeria (2006-2008); United States Ambassador to Syria (2010-2014) [27] | For "bold and courageous diplomacy" that "provided crucial support to Syrians struggling under the brutal regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad." [26] | ||
2013 | Gabby Giffords | Former U.S. Representative for Arizona's 8th congressional district (2007–2012) | "[I]n recognition of the political, personal, and physical courage she has demonstrated in her fearless public advocacy for policy reforms aimed at reducing gun violence." Giffords survived an assassination attempt that left her with a severe brain injury. [28] | |
2014 | George H. W. Bush | 41st President of the United States | "[I]n recognition of the political courage he demonstrated when he agreed to a 1990 budget compromise that reversed his 1988 campaign pledge not to raise taxes and put his re-election prospects at risk." [29] | |
Paul W. Bridges | Mayor of Uvalda, Georgia | "[F]or risking his mayoral career with his decision to publicly oppose a controversial immigration law in Georgia" (Georgia House Bill 87). Bridges joined a federal lawsuit filed by the ACLU to stop the implementation of the law. [29] | ||
2015 | Bob Inglis | Former U.S. Representative for South Carolina's 4th congressional district (1993–1999; 2005–2011) | "[F]or the courage he demonstrated when reversing his position on climate change after extensive briefings with scientists, and discussions with his children, about the impact of atmospheric warming on our future. Knowing the potential consequences to his political career, Inglis nevertheless called on the United States to meaningfully address the issue." [30] | |
2016 | Dannel Malloy | Governor of Connecticut (2011–2019) | For "courageously defend[ing] the U.S. resettlement of Syrian refugees and personally welcom[ing] a family of Syrian refugees to New Haven after they had been turned away by another state." [31] | |
2017 | Barack Obama | 44th President of the United States | "[F]or his enduring commitment to democratic ideals and elevating the standard of political courage in a new century." [32] | |
2018 | Mitch Landrieu | Mayor of New Orleans | "[F]or his leadership in removing four Confederate monuments in New Orleans while offering candid, clear and compassionate reflections on the moment and its place in history." [33] | |
2019 | Nancy Pelosi | Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives | "[F]or putting the national interest above her party's interest to expand access to health care for all Americans and then, against a wave of political attacks, leading the effort to retake the majority and elect the most diverse Congress in our nation's history." [34] | |
2021 | Mitt Romney | U.S. Senator (Utah); Former Governor of Massachusetts (2003–2007); Republican nominee in the 2012 U.S. presidential election. | "For his vote to impeach President Donald J. Trump in 2020, and his consistent and courageous defense of democracy. As the first Senator to have ever voted to convict a President of his own party, Senator Romney’s courageous stand was historic." [35] | |
2022 | Volodymyr Zelenskyy | President of Ukraine | "Each for their courage to protect and defend democracy in the United States and abroad." [35] | |
Liz Cheney | U.S. Representative at large, Wyoming; Republican | |||
Jocelyn Benson | Secretary of State for Michigan; Democratic Party of Michigan | |||
Russell "Rusty" Bowers | 54th Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives; Republican Party of Arizona | |||
Wandrea “Shaye” Moss | Elections Department employee, Fulton County, Georgia | |||
2023 | ||||
Katrina Shealy, Margie Bright Matthews, Mia McLeod, Sandy Senn, and Penry Gustafson | South Carolina State Senators | "Five women Senators from South Carolina [...] who formed a bipartisan coalition to filibuster a near-total abortion ban in their state." [36] | ||
Yoon Suk Yeol (Special International Award) | 13th President of South Korea | "[F]or working to improve relations between their countries despite domestic opposition stemming from historical issues." [36] The awards were accepted by Cho Hyun-dong (South Korea) and Takeo Mori and Kotaro Suzuki (Japan). | ||
Fumio Kishida (Special International Award) | 64th Prime Minister of Japan | |||
2024 | Michael G. Adams | Secretary of State of Kentucky, Republican | "[F]or expanding voting rights and standing up for free and fair elections despite party opposition and death threats from election deniers." [37] | |
Eunice Mary Kennedy Shriver was an American philanthropist and a member of the Kennedy family by birth, and a member of the Shriver family through her marriage to Sargent Shriver, who was the United States Ambassador to France and the final Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1972. She was a sister of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Edward Kennedy, and U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Jean Kennedy Smith.
Caroline Bouvier Kennedy is an American author, diplomat and attorney serving as the United States ambassador to Australia since 2022. Kennedy previously served in the Obama administration as the United States ambassador to Japan from 2013 to 2017. Most of Kennedy's professional life has been in literature, law, politics, education reform, and charity. She is a member of the Kennedy family and the only surviving child of US president John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.
Profiles in Courage is a 1956 volume of short biographies describing acts of bravery and integrity by eight United States senators. The book, authored by John F. Kennedy with Ted Sorensen as a ghostwriter, profiles senators who defied the opinions of their party and constituents to do what they felt was right and suffered severe criticism and losses in popularity as a result. It begins with a quotation from Edmund Burke on the courage of the English statesman Charles James Fox, in his 1783 "attack upon the tyranny of the East India Company" in the House of Commons, and focuses on mid-19th-century antebellum America and the efforts of senators to delay the American Civil War. Profiles in Courage was widely celebrated and became a bestseller. It includes a foreword by Allan Nevins.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, often referred to as JFK, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the youngest person elected president. Kennedy served at the height of the Cold War, and the majority of his foreign policy concerned relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba. A Democrat, Kennedy represented Massachusetts in both houses of the United States Congress prior to his presidency.
Charles Longstreet Weltner was an American jurist and politician from the U.S. state of Georgia. From 1963 to 1967, he served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Michael N. Villines is an American businessman and former California State Assemblyman, who served from 2004 to 2010 representing the 29th district. The 29th Assembly District includes Clovis, Fresno, Madera, Orange Cove, and Shaver Lake. He served as the Assembly's Minority Leader between 2006 and 2009.
There are many coincidences with the assassinations of U.S. Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, and these have become a piece of American folklore. The list of coincidences appeared in the mainstream American press in 1964, a year after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, having appeared prior to that in the GOP Congressional Committee Newsletter. In the 1970s, Martin Gardner examined the list in an article in Scientific American, pointing out that several of the claimed coincidences were based on misinformation. Gardner's version of the list contained 16 items; many subsequent versions have circulated much longer lists.
The inauguration of John F. Kennedy as the 35th president of the United States was held on Friday, January 20, 1961, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 44th inauguration and marked the commencement of John F. Kennedy's and Lyndon B. Johnson's only term as president and vice president. Kennedy was assassinated 2 years, 306 days into this term, and Johnson succeeded to the presidency.
The Kennedy Airlift was started in 1959 by a 28-year-old Kenyan, Tom Mboya, who sought support for promising Kenyan students to get college and university educations in the United States and Canada. It brought hundreds of students from East Africa from 1959 to 1963 and was supported by many North American educational institutions, foundations, and individuals such as the African American Students Foundation (AASF) and African Americans including Harry Belafonte, Jackie Robinson, Sidney Poitier, and Martin Luther King Jr. It got its popular nickname in September 1960 when Senator John F. Kennedy in a close presidential campaign arranged a $100,000 donation from the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr Foundation to cover airfare for the autumn 1960 group of East African students just as the program was running out of funds.
John Bouvier Kennedy "Jack" Schlossberg is an American writer who has written about politics for several publications and news outlets, and is a political correspondent for Vogue magazine since 2024.
David L. Baker was a justice of the Iowa Supreme Court from 2008 to December 31, 2010.
Daniel E. Ponder Jr. is an American politician. He was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from 1996 to 2000. He is a member of the Republican party. In 2003, he received the Profile in Courage Award from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. He was elected mayor of Donalsonville, Georgia in 2013.
Tatiana Celia Kennedy Schlossberg is an American environmental journalist and author. She was a science and climate reporter for The New York Times, and has also written for several publications and outlets including The Atlantic, The Washington Post,Vanity Fair, and Bloomberg. She is the author of the book Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don't Know You Have published by Grand Central Publishing in 2019.
Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years was a 2001 exhibition that was presented by the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The event was timed to mark the 40th anniversary of her "emergence as America’s first lady." Organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, the exhibition was devoted to exploring the former First Lady's iconic style and impact on the fashion world.
William Haddad was an American political operative, lobbyist, and journalist who held a series of high-profile jobs during his lifetime. He is most known for being an aide to the Kennedy Family, during which he helped launch the Peace Corps with R. Sargent Shriver, worked in the 1960 presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy and the 1968 presidential campaign of Robert F. Kennedy. He also assisted prominent Democratic Party figures such as Mario Cuomo and Estes Kefauver and led the fight for affordable medicine as a lobbyist and businessman.
Sandy Senn is a member of the South Carolina Senate from the 41st District, serving since 2016. She is a member of the Republican Party.
"For John F. Kennedy His Inauguration" is a poem written by American poet Robert Frost for the presidential inauguration of John F. Kennedy on January 20, 1961.
Jacob Blaustein was an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and diplomat who founded the American Oil Company with his father Louis Blaustein. Blaustein was an ardent supporter of human rights, the rights of Jewish people, and an advocate for multilateralism through the United Nations, serving as a United States delegate to the UN under five U.S. presidents.
Richard King Donahue was an American lawyer, political staffer, and business executive. Doanhue also worked as a political confidant and staffer to President John F. Kennedy and to his brothers, Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy. From 1977 through 2008, he worked as a member of the corporate leadership board of Nike, Inc. He also was well-involved in a number of non-profits.